


A Conveniently Timed Mass Panic

by petroltogo



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, IronHawk Bromance, Nick Fury Invents A Supervillain, Nick Fury did not sign up for this, Protective Bruce Banner, Protective Clint Barton, Protective Natasha Romanov, Protective Steve Rogers, Reckless Endangerment Of Civilians, Stuttering, Team Feels, Team as Family, The Team Takes Care Of Tony, Tony Stark Gets a Hug, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, questionable morals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-08
Updated: 2017-01-08
Packaged: 2018-09-15 17:53:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9249188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/petroltogo/pseuds/petroltogo
Summary: A team of superheroes—that's what the general public thinks the Avengers are. A group of damaged people, trained spies, ex-hitmen, monsters, former soldiers and calculating businessmen—that's what the Avengers actually are.It's a fine distinction but when one of their own is threatened it makes all the difference in the world.Or: That time Tony was having an off-day, Clint's reckless protectiveness reared its head and Fury had to invent a supervillain.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the following tumblr prompt: would you write anon-romantic fic where when tony is extremely and unusually nervous he starts to stutter? he always did it, since he was a child, but he rarely gets /so/ nervous that the stammer comes back. but then there's some kind of public thing and he gets incredibly nervous and starts to stutter, which only makes him more nervous. the avengers, who were in the audience as well, come to his rescue when they realize what's happening.
> 
> Enjoy!

“This is gonna be a disaster!” Clint loudly proclaims as their driver opens the door of the limousine, a wide grin on his lips that says he plans to bullshit lots of important people and enjoy every second of it. 

Later Natasha will punch him twice. Once for jinxing them and once for grossly underestimating the situation.

As far as fundraisers go this one starts out surprisingly uneventful—especially considering the amount of trouble each of the guests of honour tends to attract individually, never mind as a group. Pepper Potts welcomes everyone without getting interrupted by an impromptu villainous attack even once—a pity, if Steve’s facial expression is anything to go by.

Out of all of them, Steve Rogers is definitely the one who appreciates these public outings the least. Too much of a soldier, too little of a politician, as Natasha tends to say, albeit lacking most of her usual air of frostiness. Clint can’t help but agree.

It’s a shame really because Steve has a way of speaking that reaches people’s hearts, makes them stand taller, makes them stand proud. It’s an ability that many a man would kill for, not that Clint would ever admit to being one of them. It’s also the sole reason Steve is the one doing the we’re-doing-our-best-to-save-the-world-please-don’t-be-too-pissed-if-we-obliterate-your-front-yard-in-the-process part of their official speech. Not only is Steve the only one capable of saying the entire thing with a straight face, he’s also the only one capable of making other people _believe_ it.

And hey, Clint even manages to restrain himself from making an inappropriate dick joke for the sake of watching Steve blush on national TV. Not that anyone appreciates the sacrifices he makes, just to avoid getting on Pepper Pott’s bad side. Personally, Clint prefers Natasha’s wrath, at least with her he knows exactly what kind of violent end he’ll get.

It’s when it’s Stark’s turn to dazzle the crowd into giving him whatever he so desires that things start to fall apart.

Which is in itself unexpected because if there is one thing Stark can do whilst half-asleep and with a severe head-wound it’s playing a crowd. The man wields words like they are his sharpest weapons and dances verbal circles around opponents many years his senior. Stark is as much of a manipulator as Natasha, and it says a lot about Clint’s life that he considers that to be a compliment. Watching the man work a crowd is a thing of beauty.

Perhaps that’s the reason it takes them so long to realise something is wrong.

It’s a cheap excuse as far as explanations go because the truth is, when Clint really thinks about it, Stark’s been off for weeks now. Some of it is nobody’s fault, simply more stress and longer hours at Stark Industries because their stock value isn’t increasing the way it should. Then there’s been some tension in the team as well, thanks to the sporadic sightings of Steve’s way-ward BFF. Apparently the Captain is incapable of being rational where a certain Bucky Barnes is concerned, which really doesn’t help anyone at all. And finally they’ve had three bad missions in a row now, all of them involving too many civilian causalities, one of them nineteen dead children.

So yes, when Clint thinks about it, the pallor of Stark’s cheeks isn’t so surprising after all, nor is the faint tremor in his hands. The problem is, Clint doesn’t _think_. Not until Stark starts talking, his voice devoid of the energy and cutting edge that usually draws people in and keeps them on their toes simultaneously.

Clint’s head snaps up at the uncharacteristic lack of vibrancy from his friend, instinctively scanning the room for threats and coming up empty. He’s not called Hawkeye for nothing though, and it takes Clint but an additional second to spot the dark shadows under Stark’s eyes that even the professionally applied make-up doesn’t fully hide or the slight flittering of his eyes from one side to the other, a nervous habit he’s never seen Stark indulging in before. Especially not in such a public setting.

“Stark Industries will- will-,” Stark stocks, which finally draws the attention of the other team members as well because Tony Stark _doesn’t_ stock. Clint watches his friend blink down at the stand before him, up at the crowd and down again. His eyes are empty in a way that deeply unsettles Clint, mirroring a confusion that goes deeper than simply having lost the point Stark’s been trying to make.

Stark clears his throat, visibly rattled as his eyes flick back and forth between indiscernible faces in the crowd. He looks increasingly like a mouse being cornered by a vicious predator. Clint’s gut clenches uncomfortably at the analogy.

“With the… the…” Stark’s voice, even enhanced through the microphone, is barely audible by now. Out of the corner of his eye, Clint sees Natasha expertly weaving through the crowd, focused in a way Clint usually associates with life-threatening missions that just got out of hand.

The guests are getting restless, clearly thrown-off by Stark’s unusual behaviour, and their rising murmurs aren’t helping Stark regain his self-control. If anything Clint notices the tremor in his hands worsening.

“W-we’re p-pl-planing to-“ Stark stutters, impossible wide eyes tracking his surroundings like they’ll swallow him up any second now. He looks less like a mouse and more like frightened rabbit now and Clint doesn’t know why, but somehow this is worse.

Clint is still more than twenty steps away but he can clearly see the panic in Stark’s eyes and knows with grim certainty that the man is so far passed calming down it’s not even funny. Clint also knows what he’s going to do next will either drive Stark into a full-blown panic attack or snap him the fuck out of whatever it is. He catches Natasha’s eyes over the heads of people too important to loose their trust in the Avengers, nods once.

Then Clint pulls a small handgun from its hiding place in his obnoxiously pink boots and fires. One bullet shatters the window furthest away from the mass of people, one destroys a lamp that probably costs more than Clint’s yearly salary and one just misses the tip of Stark’s left ear and hits the wall behind him instead.

Seven people get hurt in the resulting chaos, Clint’s headache from the screams not included, but with the worst injury being a fractured ankle Clint isn’t too bothered. Natasha has managed to smuggle a near catatonic Tony Stark out of the building unseen and Steve and Thor kept the mass panic from escalating, so all in all the impromptu rescue mission can be called successful.

Which means the two hour lecture from Fury is entirely undeserved, as far as Clint is concerned. But no, he’s been _reckless_. He’s _knowingly risked the lives of important people that are currently running down Fury’s door, wanting answers the director can’t give because there is no super villain to take the fall for the mess_.

“So make one up,” Clint shrugs unrepentant, predictably causing Fury to yell some more.

“It was necessary to protect the credibility of the team,” Clint says.

 _Stark catches me every single time I jump of a crumbling building and argues over Britney Spears’ greatest hits at four in the morning_ , is what he doesn’t say.

Barring a world-wide emergency, Clint is pulled off missions for five months, stuck on the most mind-numbing paperwork jobs Fury is capable of digging up. But when Clint finally arrives back at the tower it’s to find Stark on the couch, covered by a truly ridiculous amount of fluffy blankets Steve seems to keep on hand at all times, Natasha curled up around his feet, reminiscent of a deadly predator watching attentively over their cub, the smell of Bruce’s infamous hot chocolate heavy in the air, Clint can’t bring himself to regret a single thing.

He bodily throws himself over Stark instead, and ignores the sharp satisfaction that flares up when Stark, after a reflexive flinch, promptly melts into his half-hug, half-tackle. Natasha huffs but drapes one arm loosely around Clint’s calves and it says a lot about the team that Bruce doesn’t even blink when he enters the room, just asks Clint whether he prefers herbal tea or hot chocolate.

Stark doesn’t say a word for the rest of the night but when Clint insists on watching _Tangled_ again, there’s a tiny smile on his lips and that’s a decent enough start.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments are always welcome *hint, hint*
> 
> Or say hi on my tumblr [tonystarktogo](http://tonystarktogo.tumblr.com/).


End file.
